IR - PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
English subtitles are added in many Indonesian movies because they are
promoted and broadcasted abroad. Adding subtitles also happens in some platforms
proposed for watching movies, such as Netflix, Viu, and Hooq. In those platforms, the
audiences who access the movie provided come from many countries with different
languages. Therefore, most movies provide English subtitles and/or dubbing to ease
audiences from all over the world.
Hornby (1995) stated that subtitles are words that translate what is said in a
movie into a different language and appear at the bottom of the screen. Hatim (2001)
also declared that subtitling is a printed statement or fragment of dialogue that appears
as a translation at the bottom of the screen during the scenes of a motion picture or
television show in a foreign language. From the definitions provided by two experts
above, it can be concluded that subtitle is a product of translation that used to transfer
the dialogue of a movie into a foreign language.
Subtitling, which can be called as movie translation, is a different kind of
translation because it is limited by time and space. Hatim (2000) states that subtitling
involves complicated procedures that are not common in other translation work of
written text because subtitling is limited both by the time of the character’s expression
in the movies as well as time for the reader to read the text and by the space of the
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SKRIPSI TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF... AISYAH ATTAMAMI IR - PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA 2
screen. One of the common issues in movie translation is rendering a concept in one
culture to another.
According to Durdureanu (2011), the concept of equivalent in translation
cultures becomes a problem. He also added that the translator could not ignore the
cultural elements in a text because translation and culture are related to each other.
Newmark (1988) defines culture as the way of life. It indicates that each community
uses a particular language to express their feeling and ideas. From this statement, it can
be agreed that each community has its specific cultural aspect expressed in their
language. Thus, translation involves at least two different languages and cultures. The
gap between the source language and the target language marks difficulties in
interpreting the exact meaning of the source culture expressions. This is called Culture
– bound problems.
According to Nedergaard-Larsen (1993), culture-bound problem deals with
culture-bound elements which only exist in the source language culture. He also stated
that culture-bound problems can be classified into two: extralinguistic culture-bound
problem and intralinguistic culture-bound problem. In Nedergaard-Larsen’s paper, an
extralinguistic culture-bound problem was discussed more than an intralinguistic
culture-bound problem. He classified the types of extralinguistic culture-bound
problem into four types: geography, history, society, and culture, and further detailed
elements in each type (Nedergaard-Larsen 1993, 211).
According to Mustapic (2016), several terms have been used to describe the
same concept of extralinguistic culture-bound items, such as realia, extralinguistic
SKRIPSI TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF... AISYAH ATTAMAMI IR - PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA 3
cultural references, extralinguistic cultural terms, etc. The lack of precise terminology
and definition can be a source of confusion for both researchers and readers. Therefore,
this study focuses on the Nedergaard-Larsen terminology of extralinguistic culture-
bound items (1993). In translating extralinguistic culture-bound items, appropriate
strategies have to be used to bridge the gap between different language systems. One
of the translation strategies forwarded for rendering extralinguistic culture-bound items
is Pedersen’s (2005) extralinguistic culture-bound references (ECRs) theory.
Pedersen (2005) proposed culture-bound items that he classified into two:
intralinguistic and extralinguistic culture-bound references. Extralinguistic culture-
bound references may not have the specific vocabulary used for the analysis of
translation in culture. The vocabularies that refer to culture-bound words can be
indicated in two ways. Based on Akbari (2013) first, the concept or reference of the
vocabulary items is somehow specific for the given culture. Second, the concept of
reference is general but expressed in a way specific to the source language culture.
According to Pedersen (2007) examples of culture-bound beyond language are people's
names, food, and place.
It is already mentioned that the process of translating ECRs is difficult because
of different concepts and aspects of culture and language. Taking this phenomenon, the
writer researches Extralinguistic culture-bound references (ECRs) in the English
subtitle of Aruna dan Lidahnya movie. This drama and food traveler movie is made in
2018 which pictures a group of friend stories on a road trip across the country, as they
navigate professional obligations as epidemiologists to investigate a bird flu case. This
SKRIPSI TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF... AISYAH ATTAMAMI IR - PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA 4
group of friend visit some cities in Indonesia, especially in East Java and West
Kalimantan. They try some traditional food in those cities and there are a lot of cultural
representations through the Indonesian language which are subtitled into English.
Aruna dan Lidahnya movie is adapted from Laksmi Pamuntjak’s novel with the
same name. This movie is different from other Indonesian films because it presents a
food traveler genre that is rarely produced by Indonesian producers. The theme and
style of this movie are very unique because the dialogue between the characters is not
only about the activity but also about political and social issues in Indonesia, such as
corruption and religion. Indonesian Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani stated that this
movie becomes her favorite movie because there is much knowledge about a culture
that could be found in the storyline. Those reasons above prompt the writer to choose
Aruna dan Lidahnya movie as the object of the study.
In analyzing the subtitles, the writer applies the theory of translation strategies
proposed by Pedersen (2005). He states that there are two major orientations in the
strategy categorization. The first category is source language – oriented which consists
of retention, specification, and direct translation. The second category is target
language-oriented which consists of generalization, omission, and substitution.
Pedersen’s theory is appropriate to be used since the focus of this study is the way
ECRs in Aruna dan Lidahnya translated into English and to map whether it tends to
foreignization (SL oriented) or domestication (TL oriented).
Pedersen’s strategy categorization refers to the ideology of translation. The
ideology of translation according to Venuti (1995) is also categorized into the concept
SKRIPSI TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF... AISYAH ATTAMAMI IR - PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA 5
of domestication and foreignization which could be determined by comparing the result
of the strategies used. In domestication, the choice of words is going to be more familiar
explanation to the TL reader, so the translation product is more familiar to the TL
audience. Meanwhile, in the foreignization, the choice of words maintain the foreign
culture and foreign sense for the target reader.
In this regard, extralinguistic cultural references and extralinguistic culture-
bound items have been discussed in several studies. Sujarwanto (2014) discussed the
translation strategies and ideology of translation in Mirah of Banda novel. She used
Axiela’s theory to classify culture-specific items, Newmark’s theory to classify the
types of culture-specific items, and Pedersen's theory to analyze the translation
strategies in translating culture-specific items. Then, Mustapic (2016) discussed
American and British films with Croatian subtitles. She used Nedergaard-Larsen's
taxonomy to identify the extralinguistic culture-bound items and used Pedersen's
theory to analyze the translation strategies. Another study is about ECRs and
audiovisual translation (AVT) in the Indonesian subtitle of The Hundred Food Journey
movie (Rios 2017). He used Newmark’s cultural words theory, Pedersen’s ECRs
theory, and Dias Cintas to analyze the AVT.
This present study discusses the same topic: subtitle, extralinguistic culture-
bound items, ECRs, and ideology of translation. Yet, this study is focused more on the
translation of extralinguistic culture-bound items from Indonesian into English which
is still under research, especially in English department at Airlangga University.
Therefore, the aims of this study are elaborating the ECRs strategies in translating
SKRIPSI TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF... AISYAH ATTAMAMI IR - PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA 6
extralinguistic culture-bound items from Indonesian into English to reveal the ideology
of translation used.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Based on the background study, the researcher formulates three questions as
follows:
1. What are Extralinguistic culture-bound items of ECRs in the Aruna dan
Lidahnya movie based on Nedergaard-Larsen’s Theory (1993)?
2. What are the translation strategies of ECRs found in English subtitles of Aruna
dan Lidahnya movie based on Pedersen’s Theory (2005)?
3. What is the ideology of translation of ECRs found in Aruna dan Lidahnya
movie based on Venuti’s Theory (1995)?
1.3 Objective of the Study
a. To find and list extralinguistic culture-bound items of ECRs in the Aruna dan
Lidahnya movie.
b. To map the translation strategies of ECRs found in English subtitles of Aruna
dan Lidahnya movie.
c. To reveal the ideology of translation in translating ECRs in the Aruna dan
Lidahnya movie.
1.4 Significance of the Study
Theoretically, this study is designed to contribute to research on translation
studies area and introduces Pedersen’s theory(2005) of translation strategies in
SKRIPSI TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF... AISYAH ATTAMAMI IR - PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA 7
audiovisual media which has not been explored much as well as introducing the way
of translating extralinguistic culture-bound references in movie subtitles.
While practically, this study is expected to be used as references for students
who are interested in translation studies or planning to conduct similar research about
translation strategies in audiovisual media. It is also useful for translators to improve
knowledge about translating extralinguistic culture-bound items in movie subtitles.
1.5 Definition of Key Terms
Extralinguistic Culture- A verbal expression about realia, to cultural
Bound References (ECRs): items, which are not a part of the language
(Pedersen 2005).
Subtitle: A written text displayed at the bottom of the
screen (Cintas, Introduction - Audiovisual
Translation: An Overview of its Potensial 2009).
Foreignization: The translator uses word choices to maintain the
foreign culture (Venuti 1995).
Source Language: An original verbal language (Munday 2009).
Target language : A different verbal language (Munday 2009).
SKRIPSI TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF... AISYAH ATTAMAMI